In a 1926 landmark building in Chicago’s Gold Coast neighborhood, the first outpost of Ian Schrager’s PUBLIC brand bears the hotelier’s perfectionist signature at every turn, from the custom-designed lighting to the “no-color” palette. The posh lobby of the PUBLIC Chicago makes an immediate impression. A giant clock with a backward-moving hand ticks softly behind the front desk, bellhops dressed in vest/tie/jeans/sneakers getups move through the Art Deco–inspired doors, and Mac computers rest on a table beneath archways and rectangular columns. It’s a lively introduction to this elegant hotel.more...